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07/27/2009

This weekend, those Washington Staters who wish to stop domestic partnerships for same-sex couples submitted 138,000 signatures to the secretary of state for approval. They need 120,577 valid signatures to get the potential DP repeal on the ballot, so many on the pro-equality side are hopeful that the 138k number will not be enough. However, after seeing videos like this one, ALL of us, regardless of political leaning, should be concerned about the way these folks wrangled even the "good" sigs:

Your thoughts

I read on Queerty that it isn't illegal in Washington to commit fraud when collecting signatures for initiative drives. It should be!

This is their quote:
Unfortunately, fraudulent signature gathering is not illegal in Washington state. The mentality is that one should read and know what they are signing. Of course, in reality, many people who are stopped in a parking lot don’t read the entire petition, they believe what the signature gatherer is telling them.

The moral of this story is to read everything before you sign it.

Posted by: Dick Mills | Jul 27, 2009 10:30:58 AM

I can't help but think that Wal Mart has a "no solicitation and distribution" policy. I tried finding it online, but it appears that those policies are set by each store. I'm guessing here, but the fact that this guy is chasing people through the parking lot, instead of having a table near the entrance, that he is doing this without Wal Mart's knowledge. That just adds one more layer to the deception and devious tricks.

Sadly the gatherers that work to limit our rights use the same techniques no matter if its in Massachusetts or California. Such as chasing people thru parking lots to get you to sign the petition or misrepresenting the initiative to make it sound more appealing to the signee.

If you live in California encourage your state legislator to support AB 6 and AB 1068. Requires registration and accountability of signature gathering firms.

And AB 1068 also would forbid contracts with signature gatherers based on if the initiative would qualify on the ballot.

Uh...........Is it just me, or does this guy seem to be in favor of gay marriage?
Is this petition for a ballot measure that would allow gay marriage, or is this the domestic-partnership-ban one?

Posted by: Just me | Jul 27, 2009 10:54:46 PM

It's the DP one, Just Me. There is no other ballot initiative. That's the reason why his wording is so fallacious -- because the only reason anyone would want to sign this petition is if they are against the DPs.

Regardless of his own personal beliefs, he (and who knows how many other signature gatherers) passed off misinformation.